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December 08, 2007

It's not the pace, it's the system

It's been proposed before that it isn't a quick pace that gives the Mavs trouble. Looking at the Mavs so far this season, that is likely still true. The real thing that the Mavs have trouble with is the system that a team runs. Sometimes that relates to the pace, but the pace is merely a product of how a team organizes itself on the court.

My theory is that Mavs success against a team is dependent upon how much organization they have on the court. For whatever reason, spontaneous teams that use athleticism and on-the-spot decision making more than structure and traditional techniques are the teams that give the Mavericks trouble.

The Mavs have won 13 games this season. Let's break down each team quickly and see if we find a pattern:

Cle: Methodical one-man show

Sac: Up-tempo amorphous style of play, bad team

Hou:Yao makes them far more predictable than their coach would like

GS: Squeaked by the most free-range team out there

Phi: Bad team, more plodding than you'd think

SA: As systematic as they come

Mem: Have the weapons to open up the system but they don't

Tor: An open system, had to mount a huge comeback to win

Hou: Same as before, but with a slowed-down T-Mac

Min: Bad team

Por: Some youngsters, don't open it up as much as they could

Chi: Bad team with a boring system

Utah: Run by method master Jerry Sloan

The Mavs have eight losses this season:

Atl: Athletic sprinters, unstable guard-heavy lineup

Por: Open-floor athletes pushed the pace more than usual

Ind: New coach has Pacers playing with far less offensive structure than previous coach

Mil: Structured, fairly traditional

Was: Two best players made for the open court

NO: Young athletes with lots of hustle

SA: Without Duncan, Spurs opened things up a lot

Den: Running and gunning twosome

It looks like a trend to me. It hasn't been true every game, but then again, the Mavericks are supposed to be one of the best teams and the league and should be bucking that trend sometimes even if it is their Achilles Heel. If they're wanting to make a run at a title this year, they better figure out a way to stop those kinds of teams. Chances are, Golden State, Phoenix and Denver could all be in the playoffs, meaning the Mavs' meeting one of them is probably inevitable.